Parentage: ‘Mini Mels’ is a seedling selection resulting from the controlled pollination of the seed parent, Stokesia laevis ‘Mels Blue’ (U.S. Pat. No. 23,090), with an unnamed Stokesia laevis plant (not patented), the pollen parent. The crossing was made by the inventor in August of 2015 at a commercial greenhouse in Rijsbergen, the Netherlands. In August of 2016, one seedling from said cross was observed which exhibited smaller, dark purple flowers. The seedling was isolated for further evaluation in order to confirm the distinctness and stability of the characteristics first observed. Upon confirmation of distinctness and stability, ‘Mini Mels’ was selected for commercialization.
Asexual Reproduction: Asexual reproduction of ‘Mini Mels’, by way of softwood stem cuttings, was first performed in August of 2017 in Rijsbergen, the Netherlands. Through five subsequent generations, the unique features of this cultivar have proven to be stable and true to type.